Monday, September 28, 2009

I first read about Priyani Ceylon Cafe, a Sri Lankan restaurant, on FoodGPS's blog who in turn found out about this hidden gem from an LA Times article. Reading about the dishes in both those articles really intrigued me and although it took a while, I was happy to finally pay a visit there along with some adventurous friends. First, I have to say that I'm glad that I read up on Priyani before dining there. Their menu wasn't very detailed, but the photos and descriptions of the dishes that I got from FoodGPS and the LA Times article really helped a lot when it came time to figuring out our menu. We also got additional help from husband and wife owners, Nahil and Priyani.

Our meal started with a complimentary trio of deep fried goodness, which included pattis, chicken rolls and fish cutlets.

The pattis were shaped like empanadas with a light flaky crust and filled with curried beef and potatoes.

An interesting thing about the chicken roll is that the chicken filling was first rolled into an egg roll wrapper and than the wrapper was in turn breaded and fried.

My favorite of the three was the fish cutlet, which had a nice kick to it because of the diced red peppers that were mixed into the filling. What took these fried appetizers over the top was the addition of a peppery tomato-based sauce that was just out of this world.

Next up was the Lampreis, which was also referred to as Lump Rice. It's a mound of rice topped with eggplant curry, onion sambola, shrimp sambola, green banana curry, chicken curry and fish cutlet and then steamed in a banana leaf. This a meal in itself with a variety of wonderful flavors. The onions were wonderfully caramelized and I enjoyed the tartness of the green banana curry. A lovely hit of pungency also came from the shrimp sambola, which was made from shrimp paste. Overall, if you don't order anything else, this is a must try dish.

Another tasty dish was their Biryani which was mildly spiced; yet, still flavorful fried rice that was cooked with cashew curry and included a side of eggplant curry. There were also yogurt-marinated chicken thighs hidden under the pile of rice and smack in the middle was a roasted egg. That cashew curry added an unexpected, but welcomed sweetness to the rice and because of its marination, the chicken was was delectably moist and juicy.

Following the Biryani, the Kotthu Roti hit our table. This dish is made of housemade roti bread chopped up and stir-fried with eggs, peppers, onions, curry leaves, carrots and lamb. I really enjoyed the light chewy texture of the roti and this was the first time I ever had curry leaves in a dish. I'm not quite sure how to describe how it tasted, but it did add a flavor component that was a little different.

By now you've heard of Korean-Mexican tacos, Chinese-Mexican tacos, why not Sri Lankan tacos? I'm talking specifically about the String Hoppers, which are disc-shaped and made up of interlocking rice noodles. The components that came up with these noodle wonders included a Pork Curry, Coconut Sambol (dried coconut with chili) and Dal Curry. Nahil also suggested a little bowl of what he referred to as a gravy to give some moisture to the noodles.

Usually, the various food components are placed on your plate and you tear the string hoppers in pieces and use it to grab hold of your food, similar to injera bread in Ethiopian cuisine. My group actually went a different route, where we laid the String Hopper flat, added our ingredients, folded in half and ate it like a taco. It bucked tradition so to speak, but was still as delicious whether eaten the Sri Lankan way or not.

Believe it or not, we actually had room for dessert and my group of 4 shared 3. The first one was simply a tart plain yogurt with Sri Lankan honey poured on top. Nothing fancy to this dessert, but very refreshing.

We also ordered a Cream Caramel, which reminded me of flan, but unlike flan, it had a light texture and wasn't overly sweet.

Last, but certainly not least was the Watalappam. The best description of this dessert came from fellow food blogger and frequent dining partner, Foodblogz. In her words, the Watalappam is "a bread pudding of Malay origin made of coconut milk, brown palm sugar, cashew nuts, rice flour, treacle (Sri Lankan syrup), eggs and various spices including cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg."

Overall, my dining experience at Priyani Ceylon Cafe was stellar. In fact, it's been a long time coming, but this was one of the most flawless meals I've ever had. Flawless in the sense that there wasn't anything that I didn't enjoy about the food there, from start to finish.

If you haven't already, I really encourage you to make the trek to Northridge and experience the food for yourself. You definitely will not be disappointed.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Join Fleming's Steakhouse for an Exceptional One-Night Event Where Their Chef Will Provide the Perfect Menu and You Provide Your Favorite Bottle

You know that bottle of wine you’ve been saving for a really great meal? Bring it to Fleming’s on September 25th and they’ll serve it for you at no extra charge. From priceless vintages to the local wine you picked up in Tuscany last summer, every bottle is welcome for this one-night event! You’ll enjoy it alongside a wine-friendly 3-course menu created just for the occasion.

As they pull the cork for you, their chef will be pulling out all the stops with a 3-course menu that’s designed to pair with virtually any wine. Space for this wine dinner is limited, and only phone reservations will be accepted. Please contact your local Fleming’s for dinner reservations.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Earlier in the year, I tried Korean pizza at Mr. Pizza Factory and last year, I did a one day smackdown between two popular Korean fried chicken joints, Bon Chon and Kyochon. Mr. Pizza Factory's pizzas were hit and miss while Kyochon won hands down over Bon Chon. Given those two experiences, I was really curious to see what the food was going to be like at Pizza and Chicken Love Letter, a restaurant that featured both Korean pizza and chicken and how they would compare.

One night, a group of us mosied there for dinner and we shared 3 pizzas and orders of Spicy Garlic Chicken and Sweet Garlic Chicken. Appetizers arrived in the shape of a big plate of coleslaw topped with Thousand Island Dressing, a chili sauce and corn kernels followed by a bowl of cubed vinegared radish. Both the coleslaw and radish were also accompaniments to our chicken at Bon Chon and Kyochon. Does anyone know why these two items are usually served with Korean fried chicken? Inquiring minds want to know.

The first of our three pizzas to arrive was the Sweet Potato Pizza with onion, bell pepper, sweet potato, sausage, corn, pineapple, ham and cheese. I took a bite and the first word that came to mind was "bland." It needed more flavor, which could have easily come from sausage that's well seasoned, but in this case, it wasn't. You'd think that the pineapple would add a little tartness, but it didn't. The sweet potato could have added sweetness, but there didn't seem to be a lot of it on the pizza.

It was by no means a bad pizza. It was just okay. The crust was also not what I would have expected. It had a pastry like texture as opposed to being more bread-like, if that makes sense. I'm still on the fence as to whether I liked it or just tolerated it.

We also ordered the Sweet Potato Gold Pizza, which essentially had the same ingredients as the Sweet Potato Pizza, but it had a sweet potato mouse inside the crust. They were a bit spare with that sweet potato mousse, but it did add something a little extra in a good way to this pizza. A similar, but much better version of this Sweet Potato Gold Pizza can be had at Mr. Pizza Factory.

Our last pizza was the Bulgogi Pizza. I actually liked it better than either of the Sweet Potato Pizzas, which actually isn't saying much. The bulgogi didn't seem like bulgogi to me. It was more like sausage or ground beef, but at least, the meat had some good flavor to it which is more than I could say about the Bulgogi Pizza we also had at Mr. Pizza Factory.

When it came to their chicken offerings, I was for the most part happy with them. The Spicy Garlic Chicken definitely had a kick to them. The radishes actually were pretty helpful at times to cool the palate. As for the Sweet Garlic Chicken, it hit just the right balance of being sweet without being overly sweet. They don't quite compare to Kyochon, but overall, they were pretty good.

My one issue was that the glaze for both the spicy and sweet chicken was at times so overwhelmingly thick that you'd be left with little globs all over your finger tips after eating one. I don't have a problem licking my fingers, but not to the point that I'd be in danger of running out of saliva to clean all that glaze off. Lots and lots of napkins gave up their life during the eating of this chicken.

Overall, I wouldn't consider Pizza and Chicken Love Letter a destination restaurant for me, but the prices were quite reasonable and in fact, they had various combo pizza and chicken combination to choose from that also included soft drinks. The restaurant had a nice casual ambiance and was quiet enough so that conversation could actually happen and while the food may not have been spectacular, it was still satisfying and fed your hunger. If I happen to be in the neighborhood, I'd consider stopping for the chicken, just as long there were plenty of napkins on hand.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Last month, I was invited by San Antonio Winery to attend their Boutique Beer Tasting and Food Pairing, but before I talk further about what was a really fun event, I'd love to give you some history first on San Antonio Winery, which is a Los Angeles Cultural Historical Landmark.

In 1910, Santo Cambianica left Italy and eventually settled within an active Italian-American community in Los Angeles, CA. Seven years later, in 1917, Santo founded San Antonio Winery, still at its current location on Lamar Street, in the downtown LA area. At the time, Santo's winery was just one of nearly a hundred make shift wineries located along the LA River basin. His winery was so named due to Santo being a devoted Catholic and wishing to honor his Patron Saint Anthony. It was this strong relationship to the church that actually saved his business three years later when Prohibition was passed. While other Los Angeles wineries were being permanently closed, the San Antonio Winery was given permission by the Archdiocese of LA to make sacramental wines for ceremonial purposes. Over 65 years after the repeal of Prohibition, San Antonio Winery continues to produce altar wines for religious services.

As a young man, Santo’s nephew, Stefano Riboli, learned the wine business under Santo’s tutelage and when Santo passed away in 1956, Stefano took over the business. In the 50s and 60s, there was a shift up North in regards to the growing of the grapes since the quality was deemed better the grapes produced down South. Finally, in the 70s and 80s, the Riboli purchased vineyards in Monterey and Napa Valley. Today, all their white wines are fermented on premises in steel containers, while their red wines are produced in Paso Robles, and bottled there at the winery in their bottling room.

Today, San Antonio Winery is the only producing winery in Los Angeles, still on Lamar Street and still carrying Santo’s tradition of hand crafting quality wines and all under the watchful eye of Stefano, his wife, Maddalena, children, Santo, Steven and Catherine and grandchildren. In recognition, the city of Los Angeles designated San Antonio Winery a Cultural Historical Landmark.

Now that you know a little more about the history, let's talk beer and food or more specifically, the Boutique Beer Tasting and Food Pairing Event that I was lucky enough to attend last August. First, I should mention that this event was part of San Antonio Winery's 2009 Festival program. There are actually still two more to come, but I'll give more info about those at the end of this post.

When my guest and I arrived, the first thing that caught our attention was the smell of the tri-tip and sausages being grilled in the parking lot. If I thought I could be quick enough or sneaky enough, I would have grabbed some of that meat and got out of Dodge. Thankfully, my friend reminded me we were going to get that and more inside.

After checking in, I took my friend on a little tour. First, we went into the Maddalena Restaurant, so named after the owner's wife. What's nice is that there are samples of the various dishes on tables in front of the counters. Though the food is served cafeteria-style, I've eaten there before to know that the dishes are top-notch, both delicious and affordable. The dining area is large and can accommodate small to large groups and I like the wine barrel motif that is prevalent throughout the space.

Then we walked over to the tasting room and wine shop which was a busy hive of activity. We wandered around and took a look at the wine selections. At the time, we decided not to do any wine sampling yet since we knew beer was awaiting us in a few minutes. Amazingly, we did have room afterwards and were quite happy with the generous pours. In the end, both my friend and I definitely left with lighter pocket books in exchange for both beers and wines that sampled inside the Beer Festival.

Now for the highlights of the Boutique Beer Tasting and Food Pairing. One thing I should mention is that it wasn't really a structured event where you sat down and someone told you which beer is supposed to pair well with a particular food. Instead, the beer and wine stations and food stations were separate from each other, which made it a more casual affair. I actually kind of liked that because it allowed attendees the freedom to do what they wanted.

For me, it's generally all about the food first and my favorite station was the sausage station. There were 5 different kinds, from Argentine Sausage to Polish Sausage to Mexican Chorizo and with the sausages came 5 different mustards with my favorite being the Chipotle Mustard. I could have stayed there all night.

If you're a taco lover, there were carne asada tacos and chicken tacos to be had along with rice and beans.

Different tamales were also served, including chicken, pork or just straight cheese along with a variety of different salads like corn salad, coleslaw, etc.

Between two beer stations, one wine station and one agua fresca station, libations were always available. What was nice about the wine table in particular is that you got to sample 6 of the wines from San Antonio Winery which really gave you a good sense of what they offer.

All the eating and drinking took place inside areas of the winery that are usually only seen during their tours so we got to snack beside large holding tanks or dine below stacked wine barrels. We were even treated to some live music. Yes, people were even swaying while holding cups of wine. One or two may have even tapped their feet.

About Me

I'm a Dining Group Organizer and Food Blogger who has a passion for all things tasty and absolutely loves setting up culinary outings all over LA! If you'd like to contact me, my email address is abby@pleasurepalate.com.